Nintendo asked an outside company to make Metroid N64, Sakamoto thought about creating one the system

It’s tough to believe, but the Nintendo 64 was the only main Nintendo console to never receive a Metroid title. There have been a few notes here and there about a possible game for the system, but recently Metroid co-creator shared some very interesting information. In an interview with GamesTM, Sakamoto stated that he thought about creating a new entry in the franchise for the N64. However, he wasn’t ready to take on the challenge of making a 3D Metroid at the time. Nintendo actually asked another company to consider developing a Metroid title for the system, but they turned down the offer as well, as they lacked confidence that they could live up to expectations set by Super Metroid.

“I was actually thinking about the possibility of making a Metroid game for N64 but I felt that I shouldn’t be the one making the game. When I held the N64 controller in my hands I just couldn’t imagine how it could be used to move Samus around. So for me it was just too early to personally make a 3D Metroid at that time. Also, I know this is isn’t a direct answer to your question but Nintendo at that time approached another company and asked them if they would make an N64 version of Metroid and their response was that no, they could not. They turned it down, saying that unfortunately they didn’t have the confidence to create an N64 Metroid game that could compare favourably with Super Metroid. That’s something I take as a complement to what we achieved with Super Metroid.”